Having departed
the International Space Station last night, Atlantis' crew will now
spend a day checking the shuttle's equipment and stowing away gear in
preparation for the trip home, aiming for a 2:56 a.m. CDT landing on
Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

STS-106 Mission
Commander Terry Wilcutt along with Pilot Scott Altman and Mission Specialists
Ed Lu, Rick Mastracchio, Dan Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Boris Morukov
were awakened at 5:46 p.m. Central to begin what should be their final
full day in orbit. This evening’s wake-up song was “Home in
the Islands” by The Brothers Cazimero, played for Lu who considers
Honolulu a hometown.

This evening Wilcutt
and Altman will test the systems that will be used during the return
home to Kennedy Space Center to ensure that equipment remains in good
condition. Around 8:45 p.m. Central, a test of the flight control systems
that maneuver the shuttle once it re-enters the atmosphere and begins
to operate like an airplane will be conducted. Just before 10 p.m.,
a test fire of all 44 thruster jets on Atlantis will be performed to
verify they are in good working order.

The astronauts
also will spend part of their work day putting away the equipment they
have been using over the last week along with items being brought back
from the International Space Station in preparation for their return
to Earth.

Atlantis remains
in excellent operating condition, as does the International Space Station,
now more than 100 statute miles behind the shuttle. The two spacecraft
are moving about 8.8 miles farther apart with each orbit of Earth. For
a touchdown in Florida at 2:56 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, Atlantis would
fire its engines to begin a descent at 1:49 a.m. CDT. A second opportunity
also exists for a landing in Florida on the next orbit. The second opportunity
would have the deorbit burn taking place at 3:27 a.m. CDT and Atlantis
touching down on the 3-mile-long runway at KSC at 4:33 a.m. CDT.

The next mission
status report will be issued at 7 a.m. CDT on Tuesday.

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